Starts on Sunday! I've heard a few tiny little spoilers for the first episode, but nothing really interesting. I'm pretty sure it takes place in November/December 1967 (AMC promo images give it away), so we're on the verge of some pretty major historical stuff. MM seasons usually cover a little less than a year, so I'd imagine we start in 12/67, go through the Tet Offensive, MLK and RFK being assassinated, Apollo 7 launching, the Democratic Convention riots and end with the Nixon election in '68. Also, Pete now has sideburns. This is important.
Can anybody explain why this show is worth watching? I've watched the first 12 episodes, and am still just not finding myself interested in the stories or people. Does it ever get beyond style for the sake of style? Also, the people are all assholes, so I don't expect to ever develop any empathy for their struggles.
Once you start to learn more about the characters, they seem more human, especially Don. He loses the veneer of perfect 60's organization man, and pretty much falls apart. Also, some people show up or take on greater roles as the series goes on. Don's daughter, for example, becomes a central character, and pretty much everything she does is awesome.
The main reason I like it because Draper is just a killer when it comes to his business. A good example of that is when he lost it during a pitch when he couldn't believe the customer was happy with 50% of the market share. "I won't settle for 50% of anything." The acting is great too, and just seeing the difference in lifestyles between then and now is pretty cool. According to the older guys in my office that's just what is was like when it came to the boozing, smoking, liquid lunches, womanizing, etc. I grew up in the wrong era.
I've kind of considered the first season a wash as far as watchable plot is concerned Lot's of cigarettes, liquor, and womanizing That being said, it is a pretty big deal during the week on the night i get to watch the new Mad Men on DVR. Season 5 blew me away.
I just started watching this series and my initial impression isn't much different than @gul . It's...okay...but nothing to write home about so far (most of the way through the first season). People rave about this show, so I'm assuming that it gets better but what I've seen so far is pretty underwhelming.
